View Year/Month

Appropriations Suspense File Updates

May 25, 2012

This week the Senate and the Assembly Appropriations Committees met and took up items on their suspense files.

The suspense file is a holding placing for bills with significant fiscal impacts. Bills are generally held on the suspense file before each fiscal deadline so that each House can evaluate the total impacts to the state. Bills which are moved out of suspense then go to the floor while bills held in suspense die.

City officials are encouraged to send position letters for bills moved off of suspense this week. Sample letters are available on the League’s website by typing the bill number into the search box.

Sent to the Floor

SB 1002 (Yee) – Oppose. This bill moved off Senate suspense and will head to the Senate floor next week. This bill would amend the California Public Records Act to require agencies to create new records at public expense and dictates the format in which agencies maintain and disclose electronic records. This bill also would establish open format standards for public agencies that are required to make electronic data available to the public. The League opposes this bill because it would put costly burdens on already struggling public agencies by requiring them to reformat information that is already available.

SB 1161 (Padilla) – Watch/Concerns. This bill moved off Senate suspense and will head to the Senate floor next week. The bill was amended to include clarification of what is considered to be VoIP service and to include additional exemptions to the bill, including local utility user’s taxes. While the League does not have an official position on SB 1161, we have raised concerns regarding the impact of the bill on local tax and fee collection and land use authority. The author has indicated a willingness to address these issues, and the League will continue to provide updates as negotiations continue.

SB 1222 (Leno) – Oppose. This bill moved off Senate suspense with amendment and will head to the Senate floor next week. According to the Senate Appropriations Chair, the bill was amended to give local governments new fee authority to comply with the requirements of the bill. The bill places a cap on building permit fees on solar residential systems and requires local agencies to justify their “reasonable costs” in a finding and ordinance for any costs more than $400.

SB 1351 (Rubio) – Support. This bill moved off Senate suspense and will head to the Senate floor next week. This bill reinstates peace office status for Community Correctional Facility custodial staff while on duty to ensure they have appropriate authority to fulfill custody duties. These officers had peace officer status prior to the 2011 Public Safety Realignment but this did not carry forward after enactment of Realignment.

AB 1993 (Ma) – Oppose. This bill moved off Assembly suspense and will head to the Assembly floor next week. This bill reduces consequences for unlicensed drivers by restricting authority for peace officers to impound vehicles. Additionally, requires the peace officer to attempt to reach a licensed driver to remove the vehicle.

HOT BILL –AB 2231 (Fuentes) – Oppose. This bill moved off Assembly suspense with amendments and will head to the Assembly floor next week. The bill would now require voter approval before a city or county could change an ordinance or resolution that currently states that the local jurisdiction is responsible for repairs to sidewalks.

HOT BILL – AB 2312 (Ammiano) – Oppose. This bill moved off Assembly suspense and will head to the Assembly floor next week. This bill creates statewide medical marijuana board to oversee regulation of cooperatives, collectives and dispensaries and imposes population-based formula for minimum number of required dispensaries in a local jurisdiction. Additionally, it states a local jurisdiction may only reduce the number of dispensaries, or ban dispensaries, through a voter-approved ordinance or report to the board stating that medical marijuana is accessible.

Held in Committee

AB 1549 (Gatto) – Oppose. This bill was held in committee. This bill requires cities with populations of more than 100,000 to designate an administrative entity to serve as the applicant’s single point of contact with the local agency, upon request of an applicant.

AB 1562 (Jeffries) – Support. This bill was held in committee. This bill ensures that inmate fire camps can continue to operate through contracts between counties and CALFIRE.

AB 2128 (Cook) – Oppose. This bill was held in committee. This bill reduces the penalty for running a red light on a right turn. Also requires longer change-interval timing (yellow to red) at intersections where red light enforcement cameras operate.